Happy birthday, Tali
by PrincessTiva
Summary: She had never expected Tony to do something like this for her. Ziva wonders why exactly Tony brought the opera to her. Tag to 10x07 "Shell Shock Part II". One-shot. Tiva.


**A/N: Hello everyone :) So, after that WONDERFUL TIVA TWO-PARTER (oh wait haha it was a NCIS two parter but yeahhh :D) I just had sooo many Tiva feels lol :D After last night's episode (10x07 "Shell Shock Part II") I just couldn't resist! It was too cute and I needed to write this because seriously, they can't just make Tony leave and have Ziva sit there. She's not the kind of person who would just let it go. Sooo, yeah, please enjoy this little one-shot :)  
Summary: She had never expected Tony to do something like this for her. Ziva wonders why exactly Tony brought the opera to her. Tag to 10x07 "Shell Shock Part II". One-shot. Tiva.  
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of it's characters and blaaaah why am I even telling you this? You know it already anyway. :D  
ENJOY!  
**

* * *

Ziva sat there, stunned. Never had she expected Tony to do something like this for her. Sure, he was her partner, her best friend. They'd been through so much together and lately they'd been sharing more and more.

And that's what made Ziva wonder why exactly Tony had done it. Was there more? Were they going down the road to a possible rela.. _"No, Ziva, snap out of it"_, she told herself.

She was not going to allow herself to go there. But what if it was true? What if Tony did care for her – in a more than partnerly, brotherly, friendly way? It was, after all, a possibility.

And she simply couldn't deny that she sure had feelings for him that went way beyond partnership and friendship. She wasn't supposed to feel like this. But seriously, she couldn't help it. Even if she tried!

Hell, he'd brought her an entire opera! If that wasn't a sign she didn't know what was. She sighed. Now was not the time to think about this, now was the time to listen to the beautiful music Tony had brought for her.

* * *

Later that night Ziva arrived at Gibbs' place and knocked on the door. She knew it was always unlocked but she didn't want to just burst in. She was the one who was late after all.

She absently straightened her dress and fixed her hair as she waited for the door to be opened. When it did Ziva's breath caught in her throat. Tony was standing in the door frame, grinning at her.

It was his typical grin but his eyes spoke more than a thousand words. His eyes told her the real things. The things she actually wasn't prepared to face. "Did you have a good time?", he asked gently.

The gentleness in his tone surprised her. It was very unusual for him. But coming to think of it, this was the side of him that she'd seen lately. "Oh my God! Ziva! You're here!", Abby suddenly cried out just when Ziva was about to answer.

She was pulled into a bone crashing hug and then Abby guided her into the living room, babbling constantly. Everyone greeted Ziva and she sat down next to Tony at the table.

During the dinner (she hadn't missed the turkey after all) Ziva's hand would sometimes come into contact with Tony's, sending shivers down her spine. Well yeah, they obviously needed to talk about a few things.

* * *

"Thanks for everything, Gibbs.", Ziva thanked as she left the house. Tony was already standing outside, leaning against his car, obviously waiting for something. Her.

"You're welcome, Ziver.", Gibbs said smiling and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Ziva smiled back at him and then turned to leave. After the front door was shot Tony walked towards Ziva again.

"You never answered my question.", he said quietly when he came to a stop right in front of her. Her heart did a flip. It was now or never. Do or die. "I loved it", she whispered, "thank you".

He smiled widely. "I'm glad", he said, "look, Ziva, I'm sorry for pushing you. You know, about the opera and stuff. I just..". He trailed off but Ziva wished he had continued.

What was he going to say? She could have sworn it was heading in the direction she was both anticipating and fearing. "What Tony?", she asked softly, taking another step towards him.

Their toes were now touching, she could feel his breath on her face, their faces were dangerously close. He grabbed her hand. Ziva looked down as she interlocked her fingers with Tony's.

In this moment she was simply not able to look into his eyes. "I just want you to be happy.", he eventually admitted quietly. Her head shot up at this. She brought her free hand to his neck and gently caressed his cheek with her thumb.

"I am happy, Tony. _You_ make me happy.", she whispered. There they were, standing right on the damn line. The ball was in his court. He could either ignore her statement, reject her or pull her over the line with him.

"I did it for a reason, Ziva.", he said. She looked at him confused. What was he talking about? "The opera.", Tony explained as if he had been reading her thoughts.

"Remember how everyone told you today that's it one of the big three?", he asked quietly. His voice was just above a whisper now and it was shaking. "Bringing a opera to someone should be rated even higher.", she whispered back.

Tony's breath hitched. He stared into her eyes, searching for the thing he desperately needed to hear. She stared right back into his eyes. Suddenly they heard the clock of a church somewhere. Midnight.

Ziva saw Tony leaning closer, very slowly, giving her all the time in the world to back out. But she didn't. Instead she leaned in, closing the final gap between them.

The moment their lips met it was like fireworks exploded. She squeezed his hand that was still holding hers and her fingers at his neck started playing with his hair.

He snaked his free arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. When they broke the kiss, they were both breathing heavily. Tony rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you.", he whispered. She closed her eyes for a moment. "I-I love you, too.", she replied just as quietly as she opened her eyes again to look at him. He pulled his hand out of her's to wrap his other arm around her waist as well.

"It's your sister's birthday. I hope she has a good one up there with my mom.", he whispered. A single tear escaped her eye and she wrapped her now free arm around his neck, too.

She pressed another kiss to his lips. She didn't need to say that she hoped or thought he was right. He just knew. Because he _got_ her, he_ cared_. "You can say it, Zi. I won't think any less of you if you do. I love you.", he told her gently.

She knew exactly what he was talking about. His arms tightened around her as he pulled her closer to her, kissing her forehead softly. It was incredible how safe her made her feel.

She was finally happy, not just content. She had someone holding her on Tali's birthday, the most difficult day of the year, and didn't need to be alone. She couldn't believe how she hadn't realized it earlier.

Tony had been right in front of her eyes for years after all. It didn't matter how much time they'd wasted though. At least it didn't matter anymore because now they were done wasting time.

The line had been crossed. And here she was, in his arms, on Tali's birthday, more happy than she'd been in a long time. She smiled and a tear rolled down her cheek as she finally whispered: "Happy birthday, Tali."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you everyone for reading! :) Please leave a little comment on the way out :) It's that wonderful shiny box below and you'd make me sooo happy! THANK YOU! x33  
Love y'all  
~ C.  
P.S. To those of you who have been reading the Alison series: the next chapter should be up by the weekend. Sorry for the delay!**


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